


Coffee Shops and Radio Waves

by TalesInInkAndStars, Taupefox59



Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Because girl's need more loving, Coffe shop AU?, Dawn is genderfluid, Dawn/Don same person, Eventual Anders/Mitchell, F/F, Gay nerds!, Lots of rambling about music, M/M, Over use of Brits love tea stereotype, Polyamory, Radio hosts!, They will probably get their own story to be honest, good god we ramble
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6706426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesInInkAndStars/pseuds/TalesInInkAndStars, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taupefox59/pseuds/Taupefox59
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Three nerds walk into a coffee shop: </p><p>Annie, in search of love and understanding and a fresh start, left Bristol when her ex turned ugly.</p><p> Lauren escaped from a dead-end town and found herself seeking new opportunities in a new city in a new country, finding solace in the music of San Francisco. </p><p>Dawn (or Don, as it suits) traveled across the world to land in the arms of old family friends, bringing a bit of Kiwi flair to the culture of San Francisco. </p><p>Together they learn that love has a way of dive bombing into your life with no warning, and that, when it does, that's when life gets interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee Shops and Radio Waves

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is mine and Taupe's first collaboration ever and we are releasing it in honour of Polyamory day because poly needs more love and these three characters interact a lot so we were convinced we could make a serious and beautiful love story with them.
> 
> Then we started writing and it descended into the two of us trying to out-cute each other and freaking out about music and coffee puns... :D
> 
> We have had so much fun making these characters so we hope you like them and stick around to watch three nerds walk into a coffee shop and fall in love! :P
> 
> And yes, the summary is phrased like a cheesy romance movie B)

Lauren Drake was not a morning person. She could hear Ingrid already bustling around in the kitchen, humming what Lauren suspected was the opening lines to ‘Good Morning’ from Singing in the Rain, and glared silently at the beaded doorway. She’d been working at Kopi Lu Wacky for a little over a year and she still hadn’t gotten used to her boss’s constant sunny disposition. Olaf Johnson and his partner Ingrid were some of the craziest people Lauren had ever met. They were both from Auckland, New Zealand and were perhaps the two craziest hippies Lauren had ever met. They lived in the stuffy two bedroom apartment above the café which always smelled like weed and cheap alcohol. They’d thrown her a party when she’d first gotten the job and had awoken the next morning with no memory of what had happened, despite the fact that she’d only drank pink lemonade the entire evening.

Her boss’s favourite pastime being surfing and all things to do with the wide ocean blue, the café’s ceiling was one giant mural of swirling water and cascading beaches. It was an apparent tradition that every employee add to this hodgepodge masterpiece and Lauren’s crudely drawn seagull was frozen at the crest of a dive in the far left corner of the space. Pin striped blue and white sofas and booths lined the walls, coupled with cream washed walls covered in everything from intricate watercolours of customers painted by Olaf to the downright pretentious works of modern art. None of these things seemed to go together and yet, Lauren still found the whole thing possessed a certain charm that never failed to lighten her mood, until now. 

Lauren raised the blinds and promptly reeled back as bright sunlight streamed straight into her eyes.

“Fucking hell would you tone it down a notch?” 

“Are you talking to the- the sun?” A voice said behind her. Ingrid stood by the kitchen doorway, stirring a massive turquoise bowl full of something such a vivid shade of green it made lauren’s eyes hurt even more. She reached up to rub at them angrily and resumed opening the blinds, careful not to face the windows directly as she did so. 

“Yes I am. Fucking sun is too bright.” She was aware that she was grumbling like a toddler but she’d been working here for long enough for Ingrid to be used to her hideous morning moods. Ingrid simply grinned at her and offered her a taste of the mysterious substance she was mixing. Lauren tried to not to stare dubiously.

“What is it?” She took a tentative spoonful and tried not to shiver in disgust. 

“They’re Blue Agea and beet cupcakes.” Ingrid said with a grin, taking a massive spoonful for herself and licking her lips like it was the most amazing thing she had ever tasted. 

“They’re vegan, gluten free with no added sugar. Health muffins!” Lauren raised an eyebrow and shook her head. 

“Who would buy a health muffin? Muffins are made to be delicious and unhealthy and make you feel bad after going to the gym… But ah, they taste… healthy I guess?” 

‘And health is what people pay for when they want purple morning muffins!’ Ingrid said, laughing brightly. ‘You’ll miss my morning muffins when you’re working the afternoon shifts.’

“See I don’t think I will- wait what?” Lauren looked back her with one eyebrow raised and Ingrid simply smiled softly and gestured to where Lauren’s bag sat on the counter. 

“Nothing dear. I just have a feeling as all. Is your phone on speaker?” She was already turning and pushing her way back through the beaded curtain. 

“Miss what?” she called after her but was interrupted by her phone ringing. She frowned at her bag and sent a confused glance back to where the beads were still swinging in the doorway. She loved working for Ingrid and Olaf, but she couldn’t deny that they both had a tendency to be rather odd. Most off the time, it was easy to pass it off as the way that they threw themselves into the hippie lifestyle. Sometimes though, it was hard to fight the feeling that maybe there was something more there. She shook her head and jogged to her bag to get to her phone before it stopped ringing. She didn’t even stop to look at the number before swiping the call open and bringing the phone to her ear.

“Yeah?” 

“Lauren? It’s Davey. From the radio station?” Lauren felt her stomach churn and desperately wished she’d eaten before she came to work because she was starting to feel dizzy.  
“Oh. Yes, hi Davey.” Her voice cracked slightly and she slapped her other palm to her forehead in embarrassment. “What’s up?” 

“I was just phoning to tell you that we’d be super psyched if you would come a be one of our morning presenters on the show.” Lauren had to stifle a laugh at the 43 year old Davey using the word ‘psyched’ in a serious conversation but held back the urge and nearly fell over in surprise. 

“You’re serious?” Her audition had been a mess. She’d gotten so nervous she’d ended up just making a series of jokes and going on a rant about how shit the tea quality was in America. She started to shudder at the memory before she realised that Davey was still talking to her. 

“You’ll be starting in about a week's time. We haven’t quite decided who will be with you yet but we’re getting there so you’ll get plenty of time to get to know your partner before you both hit it big time!” She wasn’t quite sure how ‘big time’ a student radio show was but she still thanked Davey profusely and hung up. She hoped her co-worker wouldn’t end up being one of those stupid guys she’d seen at the auditions or that tall blonde girl who looked like she was sucking on a lemon the whole time. Lauren didn’t tend to get on with other people very easily, something about her personality being too ‘specialist’ or some crap like that. ‘Passionate’ was what her mother had always said. She hoped she wouldn't fuck the whole thing up by pissing off her co-host on their first show together. The prospect was more than likely but Lauren allowed herself feel the buzz of excitement and put her phone away, feeling a hundred times happier than she had done. 

 

* * * *

 

Annie dropped her bag in the ‘staff lounge’ which was really just a few chairs shoved in the hallway that led to the office. She slid her phone into her pocket and walked back out into the bookstore. The shelves were all made to look like warm, golden wood, and the place was filled with mis-matching lamps and comfortably worn chairs that gave the place a welcoming, homey look. Annie loved it.

She made her way to the coffee shop section of the store, and took an apron off the hook. She usually worked the register, but one of the things she loved most about her job was the variety that she got to have. Some days she worked in the back with the books, some days were making coffee art in cappuccinos, and some days were spent trying to help people find "No, the kids book about the cat? It has a purple cover". 

There was no one around so she started wiping down the counters. The last thing she expected was for her phone to go off. She frowned and scrabbled to get to her pocket beneath her apron. She didn’t get many phone calls; especially not when she was at work. She pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. It was a local area code, but not a number she recognized. She ducked out from behind the counter and into a less obvious hallway to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Annie?"

"Yes, speaking."

"It’s Davey, from KLAU." 

Annie brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped. A bolt of excitement shot through her.

 

"I was calling because we’d like you to take the morning co-host position. I’m not sure if you got a chance to meet Lauren? She’ll be the one doing the show with you."

"Oh, uh." She wracked her brain, but she couldn’t think of anyone named ‘Lauren’ that she’d met at her time at the station. "I don’t think so?"

"Well, that’s alright. We’re planning a station get-to-know-you, and I’ll be sending you the station contact list, so you can get in touch with each other."

"Right, of course. Thank you so much!" Annie said, doing her best not to gush everywhere. She couldn’t fight the bright fizzing giddiness that was rushing through her. Not only had she gotten the morning show, but she was getting a new co-host as well. The last person she’d hosted a show with had been her boyfriend, who’d she’d eventually found out was pond-scum that had somehow solidified into the shape of a human.

She refused to let that be the end of her radio career though. She was not willing to lose the things she loved just because a bad relationship made it more complicated. She grinned brilliantly and thanked Davey for the position. When she put her phone back into her pocket and walked back into the store, she felt like she was floating.

* * * *

 

~ Three days later ~

The air was cold and the wind had picked up significantly, even on the short walk from Lauren’s dorm to the cafe. She could feel the goosebumps rising on her skin and cursed Nina for making her wear a dress rather than those killer leather trousers that she’d picked out. Lauren sighed and pulled her jacket tighter around her as the cafe finally came into view. 

There were fairy lights strung up around the entrance and Lauren could already see the large group of people milling around in and around it. Inside the lights were softer and all of the tables had been moved to the edges of the room, leaving one long table where all manner of food was laid out including the dreaded vegan muffins. Lauren hid a grin and walked nervously around the perimeter or the room, searching for anyone she knew. 

Eventually she saw Davey and made her way over to where he was standing talking to a tall redheaded women in a denim jacket. He saw her before she reached him and beckoned her over. Lauren liked Davey, he was nice and funny even if he did use slang language like a thirteen year old boy and made jokes that only he laughed at. 

“Hey! There’s the other half of the dream team!” He said excitedly, “Evening Lauren, you’re looking beautiful.” Lauren smiled at him. 

“Evening Davey, good to see you. Where is my better half? I’ve been looking forward to meeting them in the flesh.” She joked. Davey’s eyes crinkled in a laugh so loud it made several people look over.

“Annie is great! She is just over…oh..” She followed his line of sight to a now ominously empty chair in the corner of the room. “She was just sitting over there on her phone.” Davey said, confused. Lauren could have sworn she’d heard the name somewhere before. 

“Annie Sawyer?” Davey nodded and thrust his finger out in excitement. 

“Yes! Annie Sawyer! Lovely lady, always seems to disappear though… she's like a ghost that one.” There was an Annie Sawyer in her sociology class. She’d had some interesting views on all manner of subjects and Lauren had always wanted to discuss them further with her but the topics had alway moved on before the professor had remembered that Lauren existed. Lauren remembered looking at her on the first day of lectures and thinking that the other girl looked very adorable in her oversized jumper and converse shoes. She’d sat two seats in front of her and Lauren had frequently found herself looking at the back of her head and sighing. The realisation that she would be spending a lot more time with the other girl sent Lauren’s insides twisting in nervous excitement.

She spent a few minutes listening to Davey as he talked through the timings and the topics they would be expected to cover before being called by some people off to Lauren’s right and leaving her with a friendly pat on the shoulder and a raised glass in farwell. Lauren floundered a little left on her own and ended up making her way over to where Olaf stood leant against the wall, consuming a gigantic plate of various pastries.

“You planning on leaving anything for the rest of us?” She said as she approached. Olaf looked at her around a mouthful of chocolate gateau like a startled fish and hastily swallowed.

“You’re wearing a dress.” he said, sounding very confused. Lauren flushed and hid it by planting her hands on her hips.

“Yes Olaf, I am.” Olaf nodded and took a mouthful of strawberry shortcake.

“It looks good on you,” he said decidedly. “I’m surprised, you don’t strike me as the dress up kind.” Lauren shrugged. There was no arguing there. 

“Nina made me wear it.” She said by way of explanation. She watched Olaf as he ate and, not for the first time, was amazed that such a person could possibly hold it together long enough to pull off an event like this, small as it was. She loved her bosses dearly but they were quite frankly useless at everything except making weird flavoured baked goods, and having bizarrely good luck with scratch tickets. 

"Nina made you wear it, but you’re still the one that bought it." Olaf pointed out helpfully, before shoving some kind of miniature quiche into his mouth.

"Aren’t you supposed to be doing something other than eating right now?"

Olaf blinked innocently at her while he chewed.

"I don’t buy that." Lauren said, though her affection for her boss was obvious. "You really turned this place around though. I haven’t seen it look like this before. It’s nice. Looks good."

"Don did all of it.’ Ingrid’s voice cut through the general noise of the party. ‘Don’t let Olaf tell you any different."

"Don?" Lauren asked, confusion clear.

"Haven’t you met?’ Olaf said, ‘You get along really well."

Ingrid shoved an elbow into Olaf’s side, and then stole his plate while he was recovering. "They’ll get along better if Don isn’t wondering where all the help went."

"Don’t take my food!"

"Your food will be waiting for you in the kitchen, which is where you were supposed to anyway." Ingrid said. She turned to Lauren, "Congratulations, again, dear. We’ll have your show on every morning." 

Lauren smiled at the warm glow that settled in her chest. Ingrid and Olaf were strange, to be sure, but they were good people, and she was grateful to know them. She’d never met a pair who seemed like less likely business owners, but the people at the cafe sometimes felt more like family than customers.

Olaf followed Ingrid - or maybe just followed his plate - back into the kitchen. That was when Lauren caught a glimpse of blond hair shining in the warm light. He was wearing a sage green button-up that had been rolled up past the elbows, and a gold and green striped tie. She caught a flash that was the gold face of a watch on a band of dark, woven leather that contrasted beautifully with his pale skin.

Lauren gasped and promptly choked on air and started coughing, making the guy look up and bite his lip to keep from laughing. Lauren swallowed and held her hand up in a wave. 

“Um.. hi.” She said, God let the ground swallow her right now. “Is it too early for the ‘you take my breath away’ comment?” The guy laughed and Lauren relaxed. “I’m Lauren.” She said, moving forward to lean on the table. Up close she could see how blue his eyes were. there were flecks of what looked like gold reflected in them. The boy's mouth quirked up on one side in a half smile and Lauren was pretty sure she forgot to breathe.

“I’m Don, hey I heard you got the radio thing down at the uni? Congratulations.” Lauren smiled back and took a bite of a cupcake to hide her internal scream. Then she moaned because goddamn they were some good cupcakes. 

“Did you make these?” She asked. She swore she could feel Don’s chest puff out with pride. 

“I did indeed, the first time Ingrid let me in the kitchen. I’m usually pretty awful at baking, cupcakes are about the only thing I can do and even then I learnt from a friend of mine back home and… I’m babbling aren’t I? Yes.. um… yes I did make the cupcakes.” Lauren chuckled because this boy was so sickeningly adorable and it was making her giddy. 

Lauren took another bite, and felt her eyes close in bliss. "These, my good sir, are so damn good!"

Don leaned forward, blue eyes sparkling. "Do you wanna know the secret ingredient?"

Lauren leaned forward too, eager for the secret, and as an excuse to get closer. "What is it?"

"You’re not allowed to tell Ingrid."

"Sworn to secrecy." Lauren pledged.

Don smiled, brilliantly. "Processed white sugar."

Lauren gasped in mock outrage, before dissolving into laughter. "Ingrid will never know!"

"Good!" Don said, "Or I’d probably get fired."

"Oh, no!" Lauren said, and her hand landed on Don’s shoulder before she’d even thought about it. "That would be terrible!"

Don’s hand landed on top of Lauren’s, and she blushed at the heat of the contact. Don’s warm laughter eased the niggle of worry that had started to seep into Lauren at the thought of him getting in trouble. "Oh, no! They can’t fire me. I’m practically family."

"They wouldn’t want to anyway!" Lauren said, looking around once again at the transformed cafe. "This is amazing!" She turned back and - was Don blushing?

Lauren bit her lip and pulled her hand off his shoulder. She spared a moment to curse Nina’s fashion advice when she remembered that her dress didn’t have pockets and now she had to find something to do with her hands.

"Uh. I should…" Don started and then gestured vaguely to the rest of the room.’

"Oh! Right, of course." Lauren said, stepping back.

"I’m excited to hear you on the radio though! It’s going to be a great show."

"Oh! Thank you so much."

"Yeah. So. You better put me on air when I call in."

Lauren laughed. "Of course I will."

Don watched Lauren walk away and let his face fall onto his hands with a sigh. 

Then, Lauren turned on her heel, and walked back, "I’ll see you around?"

"You know where I work!" Don said.

"What?" Lauren looked confused.

That was, naturally, when Ingrid and Olaf appeared from the kitchen to drag Don away, leaving Lauren no less confused about what was going on. Once alone again in the midst of the party, Lauren did her best to pull her mind away from the brilliant blue eyes of the boy, and back to trying to find her co-host, whom everyone had apparently seen, but no one could ever find.

 

* * * *

 

"That was one hell of a night," Don said, taking off his binder and changing into a sleep shirt.

"I didn’t even get to meet her…" Annie said, flopping back on to her bed, and hugging a pillow to her chest.

"She’s - ah." Don paused for a moment, flushing at the memory. "She’s really nice."

"I know!" Annie said, giving in and sounding petulant. "We have class together! I never get a chance to talk to her afterward though, because I have lab across campus right after."

"Oh?" Don said.

"Yes! She seems so cool! And when she talks in class - she’s just, she’s so interesting and she’s got opinions and she’s smart, and I just want to talk to her! I think we would have the most amazing conversations…" Annie trailed off.

"Well, you’re going to have that chance, seeing as how you’ll be hosting a radio show together." Don pointed out.

Annie sighed. "I know. I wanted to meet her first though. That hardly seems like so much to ask!"

"You were the one who spent the night on the phone."

"That’s not fair," Annie said, shortly. "What would you have done if it had been Anders?" The accusation hung in the air for a moment.

"You’re right," Don said. "I’m sorry. I do know what it’s like."

"He never calls, Don." Annie’s voice sounded rough.

Don frowned. "Alright. Do you want to come over here and tell me all about it?"

"Yes."

Don sat up and patted the space next to him on the bed. "Well then. Come over here, and tell me everything. If we need to after, there’s even ice cream in the fridge.”

Annie looked up. "You’re the best, Donnie."

Don smiled. "I know I am. Now, get over here and tell me what happened tonight."

Annie crossed the room in a blur. She curled up and leaned her head against Don’s shoulder. "This alright?"

Don reached up to pet Annie’s hair. "It’s fine. So. Why did Mitchell call?"

"Josie broke up with him. She got into her program in Europe."

"Oh," Don said.

"George is still in Bristol, but his Mum, his family is in Ireland, and with Josie leaving, and I’m not there anymore-"

"Because you’re here, which is exactly where you’re supposed to be."

"I know. I just wish I could do something more."

Don pulled her closer. "You’re his sister. He knows you’re there when he needs you. That’s why he called. That’s enough."

Annie tipped her head back so she could look Don in the eye. "You’re an awesome friend, you know that right?"

Don smiled back. "Yep. I did. Now. Ice cream?"

"Ice cream." Annie nodded. "And tea."

* * * *

It took Lauren a moment to figure out where she was and why the room was upside down. Then she rolled over and the room was no longer upside down and her head span at the movement. She sprawled onto her back and looked up at the familiar ceiling of her room and waited for her brain to stop spinning on an axis. When it did she sat up and pulled back the covers, walking to the bathroom and turning on the shower. It was freezing. KLAU had advertised its extensive dorm building on the tour back when Lauren was still trying to decide where she was going and what she was doing with her life. A dorm building where 20 odd students all lived together sounded like a perfect way to make friends so Lauren had reluctantly put her name down. 

Six months in and the only friend she had was Nina: a tall girl with honey blonde hair who was studying to be a doctor. She was loud, sarcastic and had a work ethic that put Lauren to shame and Lauren wouldn’t trade her for the world. The water system in their shared room? She could do without. She showered quickly and was towel drying her hair when her phone rang from somewhere on the floor and Lauren found it under the discarded dress. She disentangled it and bought it up to her ear.  
“Hmm?” 

“Good morning sunshine!” Nina said, chuckling. Lauren sat down heavily on the bed and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. 

“Morning.. where are you?” There was a pause from the other end of the line and then Nina said with a sigh. 

“I am at my 7 am class… and you should already be on your way to the radio station for your first ever show-” Lauren jumped up and looked at the clock. She had 15 minutes before the first edition of KLAU radio! was scheduled to start. Lauren groaned loudly and buried her head in her hands. 

“I am dead.” 

“No you’re not!” Nina said. “I have never seen you more excited for anything than you have been for this show so you will get up, get in that shower and be at that studio in ten minutes looking so damn cute that everyone will hear how hot you are through the damn radio, capiche?” Lauren grinned and felt the urge to salute. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“That’s my girl. Now I need to go, my partner is currently walking towards our pig fetus with a less than honourable crazed look in his eyes. I feel worried for our child.”

“Nina, your child is a dead pig.”

“But he’s adorable,” Nina replied dryly. “And his brain is such a lovely colour.’

“I am hanging up now!”

“Love you too.. Good luck!”

Lauren looked down at her phone for a moment, and then remembered the time. She could hardly be late for her first day! She threw her phone down on the bed and got ready in a flurry, running out the door with her hair still dripping wet as she sprinted off towards the station.

 

* * * * *

 

Annie rubbed at her eyes with her sweater-covered hands, then went to check on how her tea was steeping. She’d gotten to the station early in hopes of meeting her co-host before the show. They were due to be on in less than ten minutes though, and Annie was starting to worry that Lauren wouldn’t show up.When there was only five minutes left before the show, she went into the studio for the hand-off.

"Alright, that’s it for me, thanks for hanging out on this lovely evening. For everyone who’s just woken up, you missed out on a great show. You should all become nocturnal, and listen to it every day. For now, though, I shall leave you in the talented hands of our new morning hosts, Bell-Witch and Carmilla. These two lovely ladies are sure to brighten your day! I, however, not being a fan of bright days am going to go hide from the sun and catch some sleep. Be sure to tune in tomorrow night!”

Annie sat down in front of the computer, settled the headphones on. She could see Davey out of the corner of her eyes, looking about ready to have a heart attack when the door swung open and Lauren burst in. She skidded to a halt just in front of the door and looked straight at Davey. 

“I am so not late please don't fire me!” Davey actually sagged with relief and Annie hid a grin. The red light signalled they were currently live and Annie started talking into the microphone, trying to control her nerves.

“Good morning everyone! Bell-Witch here, currently awaiting the arrival of my dear Carmilla. But since it is our first show we will all have to forgive the lady of darkness and not hold it against her for the foreseeable future ok?” From where she was sat she could only so Lauren’s profile as she slipped off a slightly too big leather jacket and apologised to Davey. Her hair looked like it wasn’t fully dry and it was curling around the nape of her neck. Annie blushed and looked away as the door opened and Lauren slid into the seat beside her. She gave Lauren a little wave which Lauren returned with a smirk before pulling her own headphones on and pulling the mic towards her.

“Hello San Francisco!” She said, “and hello to my lovely co-host so affectionately nicknamed after a malevolent American witch right?” Annie raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes indeed, nice one lady of the night. You’ve done your research!” Lauren grinned at her. 

“Are you kidding? I used to dress up as her for Halloween, until I discovered Carmila of course and there was that year I was an A grade Shelley approved Frankenstein.” Annie felt like screaming. Not only was this girl seriously hot in an ‘I could beat you to a pulp’ kind of way but she was also nerdy as fuck. Annie had the overwhelming desire to get stuck in an elevator so they could talk without interruption for a few solid hours. 

"So, you’ve been a creature of the night all your life?" Annie joked with a grin.

Lauree put on a low, smoky voice and leaned close to the microphone. "I lurk in the shadows."

"Lurk in the shadows, and wake up for the morning radio show?" Annie laughed.

"Oh, don’t be fooled. I have a coffee cup the size of my arm under the table right now."

"I’m disappointed in you." Annie deadpanned.

Lauren looked up in shock, suddenly terrified that she had done something already to mess up the chances of a good relationship with her co-host.

"You’re letting down our people." Annie continued. "What kind of sacrilegious British person would depend on coffee." She tsked.

Lauren laughed with a rush of relief. "No! No, you don’t understand! It’s self-defense! The tea here is so bad!"

Annie paused. "Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that. It’s a good thing that we work together, because never again will you find yourself searching for something better than Stash. I shall raise you from the tragic limbo of Lipton."

Lauren’s eyes got wide with awe. "Oh, you can’t be joking. Please tell me you aren’t that cruel."

Annie smiled. "I could never lie about saving someone from sub-par tea."

"Be still my heart."

"Alright dear listeners, I’m going to set this morning off with The End of the World As We Know It, the classic from REM, because everything is going to change. You’re in our world now, and it’s going to be a wild ride! And it’s only go to get better, because I’m going to get poor Carmilla some Yorkshire Gold."

"Oh, you blessed creature…" Lauren breathed into the mic.

"We’ll be right back! It’s 7:06, and you’re listening to KLAU. This is Bell Witch and Carmilla with The Morning Takeover!" Annie flipped the switch to turn off the mics and play the music. "You wanna cue some stuff up? I really am going to go make you some tea."

Lauren stared in silence, because the only words coming to her brain were declarations of love. "Thank you so much." She finally managed to get out. "Because I was actually lying about having any coffee at all, I am dying right now, and tea sounds like heaven."

Annie laughed. "Can’t have a vampire dying on my watch! I’ll be right back then. Cream or sugar?"

"Both?"

"Got it," Annie said, standing up from her chair, and heading out to the lounge.

Lauren stared after her, with the sinking feeling that her crush was going to become a very permanent thing.

Half way through the next song Annie returned, two mugs of steaming tea in either hand. She set one down in front of Lauren with a flourish. It was obviously Annie’s mug rather than one of the generic ones the kitchen in building was stocked with and Lauren stared at it with its china tail that doubled as a handle and tried really hard not to coo at it. This girl was seriously damaging her badass street credit. 

“Thanks!” She said, picking it up and taking a small sip. Her eyes went wide and she had to put the mug down. “Holy shit that’s gorgeous!” Annie looked smugly down at her and took a confident gulp of her own tea.

“Yeah?” Lauren was already taking steady gulps, the liquid gold gilding down her throat. She let out something halfway between a dreamy sigh and a loud moan. 

“Yes? Are you kidding me! You are a miracle worker my friend. God!” Annie looked like she was blushing, her cheeks going bright pink. Lauren grinned and vowed to make this girl blush as much as humanly possible from now on. 

They drank in comfortable silence for a moment before Lauren remembered that they were still only on handle name basis. “I’m Lauren by the way. Only I call myself Carmilla.” She flushed, “that sounded way less dorky in my head.” Annie laughed and dismissed the comment.

“I am literally the geekiest person on the planet Lauren, and I think it’s cute that you named yourself after the gayest vampire in literature.” Lauren shrugged with a grin. 

“Gotta be truthful from the, get go Annie. Lauren: queer as fuck literature nerd. That’s me.” 

"Rainbow twin powers, activate!" Annie said, holding her hand up for a fist-bump.

Lauren grinned and touched her fist to Annie’s knuckles. "You too?"

"Me too." Annie confirmed, smiling and sipping at her tea. The room was filled with a kind of unspoken comfort. there was something intangible but relaxing about where the conversation had taken them. There was a nebulous, unfelt tension that seemed to have seeped out of the room, leaving only unthought acceptance. Annie hummed contentedly into her mug and turned to the computer to check the song list.

"Ooh. Good choice." She said, scrolling through the songs Lauren had pulled up. "Oh!" she said, when she saw that Lauren had picked the track Some Nights Intro by Fun. "Do you like Queen?"

"I freaking love Queen!" Lauren was nearly shouting with enthusiasm. "Good ol’ Fashioned Lover Boy is my jam!"

"I just always get such a Queen feeling from the Some Nights Intro, y'know? It seems like such a pure homage to that true, glam-rock Queen sound? The whole ‘Night at the Opera’ thing?”

Lauren stared, eyes round. "I hadn’t thought of that before, but yes, oh my god yes!!!"

Annie grinned. "I really like that. The… theatricality of it."

Lauren nodded frantically, "Yes! that’s it exactly! Yes!"

Annie laughed and starting adding her own tracks to the playlist. "You know, Bohemian Rhapsody was the only Queen song I knew until I was… fifteen, I think? And then my brother was so appalled to find that out, he literally sent me his copy of their greatest hits cd’s in the mail."

"That is hilarious," Lauren said. "What’s your favourite now?"

Annie turned and glared. "I’m sorry. Are you asking me to pick one favourite song by Queen?"

"Okay, okay. No, actually. I won’t ask you to do that." Lauren laughed, "That would be mean."

"It would be mean." Annie pouted. "And I just made you tea."

"And it is really, really good tea," Lauren said, raising her mug. 

Annie cued up the cut of ‘Look Out Sunshine’ by The Fratellis that they were using as their intro music. "Hey everybody out there! So, we’ve got our tea situation sorted out."

"Blissfully, deliciously sorted out." Lauren added.

"So now we can get to the things that are happening outside of the studio, like the weather. Carmilla’s got your forecast for the day!"

Lauren looked to the screen with the weather pulled up and then glanced at Annie. She had a feeling that with Annie as her co-host getting up in time for work would be far less of a chore than getting up to go work at the cafe.

* * * *

“And that concludes our very first morning show! I am so glad that that’s over I was so nervous about the whole thing.”

“You hide it very well Carmila.” Annie’s voice was low and teasing and Dawn shook her head with a chuckle. 

“What’s got you in such a happy mood?” Ingrid asked from across the room. Lauren and Annie finished their sign off and Dawn pulled out her headphones and turned around, rubbing their hands together and watching the excess flour fall onto the work surface. 

“I was just listening to Annie’s first radio show.” she said. Ingrid was busy icing a gigantic looking cream cake with florescent purple buttercream. 

“And how was it?” Dawn smiled at the memory. Annie had never sounded more comfortable around anyone that wasn’t her in the whole six months that they’d known each other. It was nice to hear her a little more at ease with people, especially someone as cool as Lauren seemed to be.

“It was… it was really good, they work together really well and their combined taste in music? God damn Ingrid that’s all I can say.” Ingrid laughed heartily.

“Ok lover boy. Just make sure those cupcakes are done by the time the lunch rush begins ok?” Dawn raised an eyebrow. Ingrid’s eyes widened. “Did I get it wrong? I’m sorry, what did you want me to say? Lover human? I can say lover human.” Dawn chuckled and turned back to her counter. 

“Lover maiden perhaps? Or lover lady?” She teased. Ingrid looked worried for a moment longer before she realised that Dawn was joking. “Although.” Dawn continued with a grin, “lover person has a definite ring to it wouldn’t you say?” Ingrid flicked flour at their head with a grin. 

“Ok ok I get it. Now; cupcakes Dawn?” Dawn saluted her with two fingers.

“Yes ma’am.” 

 

Dawn finished stirring her cupcake batter and started lining a tray with muffin papers. She’d come in early that day to cover what would have been Lauren’s shift. It wasn’t going to be a permanent position. Dawn was the one who made the work rosters, so when people need to shuffle their schedules she was happy to make sure that gaps were filled to keep everything running smoothly. 

They still had a few members of staff to talk to, but it was looking like she going to be sharing afternoon shifts with Lauren. Dawn was both terrified and elated at the prospect. Working with Lauren might prove to be a challenge - Lauren was a highly distracting individual.

Dawn sighed a bit wistfully, then realized that she had paused only halfway through putting papers into the cupcake tin. "Oh, bugger this." she cursed softly and got back to work.

Lauren wasn’t even there, and Dawn was already losing it. "I am a professional, and I can do this." She muttered softly, before finishing up with the cupcakes and getting them into the oven. 

Dawn spent the rest of the shift absolutely focused on work and not at all daydreaming of flirting away the slow afternoons in the cafe.

At all.

* * * 

Being in the cafe in the afternoon was a new sensation for Lauren to say the least. For one thing, it was a lot less busy after the morning rush before work and the sun had already past it’s peak in the sky, meaning that it stayed out of her eyes. She pushed open the cafe door and was greeted to the sight of Ingrid paused, a forkful of buttercream halfway to her mouth, Lauren gasped comically as Ingrid reeled back and slammed the fork down onto the counter.  
“Ingrid, what is the meaning of this!” Lauren said loudly, making a few of the customers look around in vague alarm. Ingrid looked like she’d been caught stealing money from her purse. “Ingrid I am so disappointed in you.” Lauren said, shaking her head in mock devastation. Ingrid looked genuinely downtrodden and Lauren had to stop herself from laughing. 

“It is not my fault, everything about Dawn’s cupcakes can drive someone to sin...” Ingrid said. Lauren frowned and followed Ingrid as she made her way over the small row of coat hangers to the side of the main counter. She hung up her jacket and reached back to tie up her hair. 

“Wait, who’s Dawn? have I met her?” 

“Told you you knew where I worked.” The beaded curtain parted and out walked a gorgeous blonde girl wearing skinny jeans and a flowery blouse. She was carrying a tray of perfectly made, and very familiar cupcakes. Lauren looked closer at her face and saw a stunning pair of blue eyes that sparkled with humor.

“Don?” The girl turned round and held a hand up in greeting, the golden watch catching the sunlight and glinting prettily. Her hair was loose now and reached her shoulders in waves. 

“Hey Lauren, you’re looking good.” Ingrid gave them a small wave and disappeared back into the kitchen. Lauren watched Dawn for a moment as she arranged the cupcakes beneath the glass counter. She was obviously happy with being taken as a boy or maybe it was just that she didn’t care. She looked like a chill and relaxed person who wouldn’t care what others thought of her. Lauren had always admired that in other people. An ability not to always be thinking of what others thought of them. Her mind flashed back to the last time they’d spoken and panic rose in her chest.

“Oh god did I misgender you the last time we met?” Dawn looked up.

“Hmm?”

“It’s just,” Lauren took down her apron and twiddled her fingers nervously, “the other night when we met at the party?” Dawn’s face softened and she turned to smile at her. Lauren relaxed under her gaze.

“You weren’t. I uh.. I’m a little complicated I guess gender-wise? I’m genderfluid so on some days I feel more feminine and on others I feel more masculine. I mean it might sound weird if I put it like that but it’s the way that works for me you know? And- I’m babbling again…” Lauren had heard the term before, there had been a girl in her secondary school back in London that had told everyone she was genderfluid in her last year. Lauren had had a gigantic crush on her at the time and had looked up the label in a somewhat creepy attempt to get closer to her. Not her best moment. Dawn was looking at her like she expected her to freak out and Lauren realised she hadn’t responded for a beat too long. 

“Oh! ok that's cool. So some days female, some days male, hence some days Dawn, some days Don.” Dawn blushed and Lauren swore to god that pretty girls would be the death of her.

“That actually started off as more of a joke? My friend back home had a bit of a hard time understanding it? Not in a negative way just… it was just different I guess? Anyway, we all worked in a store at the weekends and we had to wear these customisable name tags so I took two and jokingly called myself ‘Don’ on masculine days and Dawn on feminine days. Since then it’s just kind of stuck.” She pointed to her chest where the cafe’s name tag said ‘Dawn’ in a neat handwritten script. Lauren burst out laughing. 

“Oh my god that is precious!” Dawn shrugged with a grin. 

“It has it’s perks.” She said, “you good out here or do you want to come out back with me?” Lauren waggled her eyebrows and Dawn flushed which only made Lauren laugh louder. 

“Alas, it is only to watch as I single handedly bake the cafe’s next month's worth of cupcakes and bread rolls.” Lauren pretended to swoon. 

“How could I pass up such an honour? And miss those forearms of yours kneading dough? Count me in!” She bounded past the other girl and into the kitchen, Dawn right behind her, shaking her head in amusement. 

 

*******************************************

“Wait wait.. So you have actually never seen Star Wars?” Lauren looked up from where she was mixing icing and shook her head hesitantly. There was a small patch of icing on her nose. It was proving very distracting. 

“Nope. I mean I’ve seen the first one and I’m obviously not going to stop there but.. So far? I can’t quite see what everyone’s on about.” Dawn’s eyes widened in alarm.

“You can’t see what everyone’s on about?” She repeated, voice an octave higher than before. 

“I mean not a lot happened and-”

“Not a lot happened!?” Dawn threw both her hands in the air. “You’re killing me Drake! The rescue mission? The obvious tension between Han and Leia? The fact that Luke Skywalker pretty much singlehandedly destroys the Death star!” She crossed her arms and shook her head mockingly. “This drastically alters our friendship you know.” Lauren looked suddenly panicked and the spot of icing would have made her look adorable but for the genuinely worried look in her eyes. Dawn hastily added, “I will have to force you to watch the entire series just to be the smug idiot that gets to prove you wrong.” Lauren’s expression cleared and Dawn resisted the urge to hold her close and stroke her hair, instead she handed Lauren a paper towel and motioned to her nose before gushing internally when Lauren walked over the mirror and huffed in annoyance, the tip of her tongue peeked out as she wiped the icing carefully away. 

“Well that was embarrassing…” she grumbled. 

“We’re going to watch them in the proper order too.”

Lauren blinked. "The proper order?"

“Yes.” Dawn stated simply.

“You mean to start with the original ones, right?”

“Start with New Hope and Empire Strikes back, before starting back at Episode One. Then Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and finish it off with Return of the Jedi.”

Lauren stared, suddenly feeling very much in over her head. “What?”

Dawn sighed overdramatically, bringing her hand to her forehead as if she was about to swoon. “You have much to learn, my young padawan.”

Lauren decided not to tell her she got frosting in her hair. After all, turnabout was fair play.

And Dawn had looked really, really cute with the smear of white frosting across her brow.

* * * *

 

"Remember, this project is going to count as your final. You will not have a test, you will have to present the findings of your research project. I highly recommend that you come talk to me when you have come up with your thesis, you all know my office hours. If you can’t make those, please email me. My job is to help you succeed in this course.

It’s up to you to come up with your own thesis and your own project, but you will have a partner."

A list of names was projected on to the screen at the front of the class. "These are your partners. It has been randomly selected from the enrollment list. If your name's not on the list, please come see me after class. I will repeat: These are your partners. If you truly want to change, you can come talk to me about it after the first of next month!"

The professor continued to speak, but Annie wasn’t paying attention to her, too busy with trying to find her name on the projection to find out who her partner would be for the final project. The final project that was, of course, worth fully 35% of the total grade for the course. She gasped when she finally saw it. If she had been able to pick a partner, she couldn’t have come up with a better outcome.

 

Lauren Drake/Annie Sawyer

 

Annie grinned. Working on this project was going to be amazing.

Out, of nowhere Lauren plopped down in the seat next to her. "Howdy partner!" She said, in a terrible impersonation of Woody from Toy Story. "You’re my favourite deputy!" She tipped an imaginary cowboy hat.

Annie laughed. "Yee-haw cowboy!"

"There’s a snake in my boot!"

“You are such a nerd…” Lauren scoffed. 

“And you love it” Annie shook her head with a laugh. That she did.


End file.
